Looking out my window during Winter Storm Octavia, I was tickled to see our neighbors sledding down the slight hills of their yard, screaming in delight, and then doing it over and over again. The temps were freezing with a wind chill of way below zero, but they didn’t mind. They were enjoying this rare snow storm! The snow was beautiful as it flowed softly to the ground casting a wonderment of white across the land. Many people were excited to see the snow and all the fun it brought with it. But for many, it was very stressful as people tried to get to work and then had to deal with all the damage the storm caused. Yes, there was a lot of devastation, but many Tennesseans pulled together and got out to help one another. It didn’t matter what a person looked like, who they were, what religion, or whatever. It was human beings helping human beings. And friends, that’s what it’s all about…our being there to help each other. Why does it take a tragedy to bring people together on a greater scale? During and after 9/11, people from all over the world banded together to help those affected by this horrendous disaster. The same with Katrina. And not just events that occur in our country, but when things happen in other countries, people everywhere unselfishly go out of their way to assist anyone who is in need. But then things settle down, people get back into their daily routines, and we forget. We stop going out of our way to help others. Not everyone…but many. There was still a lot to be done after 9/11, Katrina, and other disasters, but when the media stops reporting, people think nothing else needs to be accomplished. What’s worse is that some religionists come out of the woodwork and claim that God made these things happen to punish people, and it’s usually in accord with that person’s beliefs and God is punishing whomever that particular person disagrees with. S/he uses God to back up their personal judgmental and hateful agendas and that’s very sad. God does not cause bad things to happen to anyone! What kind of loving God would do such a thing? Not the God that I believe in! According to many beliefs, God made people to have free will. That means we make the choices as to whether or not we are going to help or harm. People blame God for so many things in this world, but we as human beings have the power and the ability to make changes for the better! There is no reason for anyone in the world to go hungry, but do we feed them? There is no reason for anyone to go without healthcare, but do we cover them? There is no reason for people to be homeless, but do we house them? Some are trying! It’s interesting to hear some complain that they don’t want government in their business, but when it comes to caring for others, they’ll say that it’s the government’s problem. Sometimes I think that these tragic events happen to remind us that we really are a part of each other...that what affects one affects all. All the great spiritual teachers throughout time have taught us to take care of one another. Jesus even said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” So why can’t we do this consistently? Many do! There are many people and organizations that do get it and are out there living the Golden Rule! The Golden Rule in some form is in most, if not all, Holy Books and writings! I so wish we could stop all this hate/bigotry nonsense and know that we are all the same. We’re all children of God, the Universe, the Cosmos. We were all made equally; it is only man that makes us different based solely on our beliefs. In the book “The Afterlife of Billy Fingers, Billy says, “If people could see each other’s souls, all war would end, and everyone would go feed the hungry children.” If we could really see each other’s souls, we would see a reflection of ourselves, and we would really know the true meaning of loving and caring for one another. And the Dalai Lama said, “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.”Thank you to all who have been out there helping others during this crisis whether you are a professional or neighbor helping neighbor! We love you and appreciate you!Published in the Cookeville Herald Citizen Newspaper February 27, 2015.

I am a Chaplain at my church and each Sunday one of our Chaplains has the pleasure of being able to share what’s on our hearts for a few minutes, and each of us brings something special and meaningful to the service.

Recently, my topic was about how we need to honor and embrace the dark times that we may go through. It’s so important that we love ourselves through those dark periods just as much as we do through the good times. All of a sudden, tears started flowing freely down my cheeks as I spoke about how important it is to love not only others, but to love ourselves…unconditionally.

There are so many people going through the darkest of times in their personal lives. It could be because of an illness, financial or relationship issues, grieving over the loss of loved ones, a catastrophic event, or anything else that may happen to us. My heart became overflowing with love and empathy for those who are struggling just to get through each day.

I also thought of those who have to deal with hate and bigotry just because of their color, race, religion, sexual preference, or whatever. I read and hear stories of violence being committed towards others because of this and I could only think what are we coming to as a species that some have become so hateful?

We claim to be a Christian nation, and we claim that God is Love, but we sure aren’t seeing it much especially from so many pulpits or from many politicians. To some, in fact, Christianity as a whole is now being seen as a very hateful religion! When you hear some Christians speak, are they speaking of loving our fellow man? Or are they tearing people down and encouraging us to hurt others just because of our differences?

So many young gays and transgendered people (as well as young children!) are committing suicide because they have been so demonized, and some Christians and others celebrate their death! We also have news programs and radio hosts who propagate hate and bigotry and even encourage people to hurt others just because of a difference in beliefs, and they do so in the name of God and Christianity! This is NOT what Jesus or any other spiritual leader throughout time has taught!

There are those who are also trying to make Christianity the law of the land, but if any other religion tried to do this, it would cause an outrage! How about if we made Love the law of the land instead? Can you imagine?

I want to make it very clear that I am definitely not criticizing Christianity as a whole. There are many, many wonderful sincere Christians out there who do practice the teachings of Jesus which was unconditional love for all and caring for our brothers and sisters on this beautiful planet of ours. They want to live in peace and harmony with all people and they take very seriously the instructions of the Bible to love and not to judge. We just don’t hear too much from this side and it’s not their fault. Hate in the media sells. All religions have good and bad in them.

I am so grateful that I have friends who are gay, transgendered, Muslim, Hispanic, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, black, white, brown, and from all colors, races, and religions! I love the diversity of my friends and the many people I have had the absolute pleasure of meeting and getting to know! They’ve taught me so much! One of the biggest things they taught me was to not hold the actions of a few against the whole. If I had, I would have missed out on some of the most amazing relationships!

If our religions are not teaching love for all people, then what is the purpose of them? So many religions have gotten so far away from the teachings of their spiritual masters that they’ve pretty much become man-made religions. We need to get back to the teachings of these masters which was love, compassion, kindness, peace, and harmony for all regardless of any perceived differences!

There’s a great quote that says, “Buddha was not a Buddhist. Jesus was not a Christian. Muhammad was not a Muslim. They were teachers who taught love. Love was their religion.” This is so true. They all taught love and to harm no one.

We all search for God mostly through our religions, but Gandhi stated, “If you don’t find God in the next person you meet, don’t waste time looking for him further.”

Unconditional love really is the answer and I can’t say it enough. Namaste!

Published in the Cookeville Herald Citizen newspaper February 20, 2015.

In today’s day and times, we live in a state of instant information via new technology such as the Internet, news, and social media. On one hand, this is a good thing. Information is at our fingertips and we can get it in an instant. On the other hand, anyone can write or say anything and it gets communicated as the truth. The problem with that is that way too many people will believe whatever they read and/or hear and will not make an effort to research as to whether that information is even true or not. We tend to only believe whatever agrees with our own personal beliefs.

This brings me to the word ‘ignorance.’ According to an on-line dictionary, ignorance means lack of knowledge or information. The synonyms for this word are unawareness of, incomprehension of, informal cluelessness about, and unconsciousness of. We can all be guilty of ignorance at various times in our lives, me included. (To be clear, I am not pointing my fingers to any individuals.)

From the time we are born to the time we die, we are in a constant state of learning. Those teaching us teach based upon their beliefs, their experiences, and from what they were taught. It’s as if their knowledge is genetic, it just gets passed on, and we trust that the information is correct.

The majority of us learn and believe according to our beliefs at the time of whatever it is we learned. I know that may sound confusing, but it’s true nonetheless. For example… In my younger years, I was an extreme fundamentalist and only believed what matched my extreme fundamentalist beliefs. Anyone who didn’t believe or think the way I did was wrong and I totally believed they would go to a place that some call hell. Many hold that belief regardless of whether or not it is associated with religion, politics, cultures, race, and so on. We tend to only believe what resonates with our own personal beliefs.

When I started my spiritual journey, I learned to open my mind to learning all things new. Once I opened my mind, that’s when my spiritual teachings went into hyper-speed. Because I opened myself up to new teachings, God/Universe/Spirit/God of your understanding, was able to teach me so much more than it could if I had continued to keep my beliefs taped up air-tight in a box. I basically took my beliefs out of the box and learned to look at the world through the eyes of love.

When we refuse to open ourselves up to new information just because it doesn’t jive with what we believe, even if that new information is the truth, then that is where ignorance enters the picture. I have seen postings on Facebook, in the media, in letters to the editor of various papers, and so forth, where if the person had done their research from a legitimate source, they would have learned that what they have written was not true, or at least it wasn’t the whole story.

I see ignorance when it comes to writings/communications about Islam/Muslims, gays, undocumented immigrants, our President, politics, the healthcare issue, education, cultures, and so much more. We need to research legitimate sources and not just from people’s personal blogs, personal websites, or other illegitimate sources that may just agree with our beliefs.

Ignorance has been used as a catalyst for propagating so much hate and bigotry. We all have our beliefs and most people are very passionate about their beliefs to the point that they try to force those beliefs on everyone else. But what happened to truth? Is that not important anymore? It is said that the truth will set us free. But whose truth? Most people will say “my truth is the only truth!” But is it? Personally, I base my own truth on unconditional love, kindness, compassion, and oneness, and it is my guide to all other truths. My truths also change as I grow. My truth may not be another person’s truth, and that’s okay. So instead of judging, condemning, and demonizing others because their truth may be different than ours, how about if we respect and honor their truth? Yes, lies need to be revealed, but we can do so without attacking and being mean-spirited about it.

Wayne Dyer stated, “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Marcus Aurelius said, “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” And Leo Tolstoy declared, “Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.”

There is a Hindu proverb that says, “There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading to the same place, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only person wasting time is the one who runs around the mountain, telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.”

This is the way I think of all our religions. There are thousands of religions all over the world, and within those religions, there are other branches and/or denominations. According to the “World Christian Encyclopedia,” there are 19 major world religions. These are subdivided into about 270 other groups, with 34,000 separate Christian groups being identified. And even in these groups, there are many sub-groups with varying beliefs. So I ask you…which one is right and which one is wrong? More than likely many will answer that your particular religion / denomination is the one and only way.

I’ve said this before, but I love the diversity of our world and that includes all the various religions and belief systems. I learn so much from many of them! I can only believe and share what I feel is right for me at this time and those beliefs change as I continue to open my awareness and become more enlightened to all of life. My main motto is Jesus’ words to love one another (no exceptions) and by this you will know who his disciples are…by how much they love one another. Therefore, I refuse to judge, or even hate, anyone just because they believe something different than me. (I don’t always succeed, but it’s what I aspire to.)

It’s amazing how many people literally hate the believers of other religions or others who are “different,” wanting to keep them oppressed, making laws against them, and some even want to wipe them off the face of the earth! We hear it in the media, from the pulpits, in books and articles, and even in letters to the editors! I recently read a letter against a particular religion and the people in that religion, but what the writer wrote were lies. (I researched to double check.) One line s/he wrote was partially true, but if the writer had researched the whole story, s/he would have learned that it wasn’t what s/he thought it was. The sad part is that people read things like this and automatically believe it without researching the truth. We need to do our own research rather than just believe what we see / hear / read regardless of what that information is or where it’s coming from, particularly if it’s hate propaganda. We also have to remember that when we’re speaking hate towards others, it defines our own character and integrity and not the people we’re speaking against.

And it’s not just religions that people spread hate towards. It’s color of skin, race, politics, sexual preferences, gender, occupations, and so much more. You would think that religions would be about love and peace and to work towards everyone getting along. It’s what all the great spiritual masters taught! How on earth did we get so off base to use our religions to back up and defend our hatred for others? It’s happened since the beginning of time, but because of today’s social technology, everyone hears about it. We say God is love, but many are using God as an excuse to hurt others and that’s just not cool!

Gandhi said “God has no religion.” I totally believe this to be true. Many religions believe in God, but many believe that if it’s not with their religion, then the God isn’t the same God. Some people get upset when they hear Muslims use the name Allah, but Allah is used by both Muslims and Christians in the Middle East. There are thousands of names for what many call God, yet we fight and argue over a deity that made it clear in the Bible that the name to be used was “I am that I am!”

Why can’t we all just get along? We don’t have to agree with each other, but let’s stop the hate! Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined non-conformists who are dedicated to justice, peace, and brotherhood.” He also said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools.” And lastly he stated, “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

Published in the Cookeville Herald Citizen newspaper January 30, 2015.

Numerous years ago, I came across a book that really made a strong impact on me and really helped me in my day-to-day dealings with others as well as with myself. I first heard about it while reading one of Oprah’s magazines where she interviewed Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen was talking about this book and how it made such a huge difference in her life. A day or two later, I received my book club packet and the book was on sale. Because of that serendipity, I knew I was to read the book.

This wonderful gem of a book is called The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz. Later he and his son, don Jose Ruiz, wrote another book titled “The Fifth Agreement.” When I learned to practice these Five Agreements, I found that they made my life so much easier in the long run. These are the Agreements:

“Be Impeccable with your Word ~Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.”

Thoughts have power. Not only those thoughts we think to ourselves, but those we put into words towards others. Are we using our words to lift others up, or tear them down? Those include the thoughts we think towards ourselves. I can beat myself up worse than anyone put together. Thoughts can become our reality, so we need to be mindful of the thoughts we think. I love the saying “You may not be able to stop a bird from landing on your head, but you can stop it from building a nest.” This is the same with our thoughts. If a negative thought occurs, it’s up to us what to do with it, and we can turn it around into something positive whether it’s a though in our mind, or something we speak towards others.

When it comes to gossip, anyone who knows me well enough knows that I despise gossip. If someone starts people bashing, I will immediately stick up for that person or group of people, change the subject, or leave the conversation. Gossip is poison and it reflects more on the person doing the gossiping than the person or people they are gossiping about or bashing.

“Don’t Take Anything Personally ~ Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.”

I used to take everything personally. If someone didn’t react the way I thought they should, I would wonder why they were treating me that way, if they were mad at me, or why they didn’t like me. In reality, not everyone is going to like us for whatever reasons. There have been people in my life who were determined not to like me no matter how nice or kind I was to them, and it would make me more determined to make them like me. I finally had to realize that it had nothing to do with me. They were only projecting their own life issues onto me, so I blessed them and let them go. When I worked with these same people every day, I had to learn to just send them love and go about doing my job.

I also learned that it really isn’t any of my business what other people think of me. If I did something to hurt someone’s feelings or make them mad, then of course I would take responsibility and apologize. Beyond that, I had to learn to let it go. Rev. Terry Cole-Whittaker wrote a great book titled “What You Think of Me is None of My Business,” which I would also highly recommend reading.

“Don’t Make Assumptions ~ Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.”

It is so easy for us to make assumptions. If an assumption crosses our mind, we can ask “Do I know this for a fact?” Most times, we don’t, and even then facts aren’t always clear. If I think there was a misunderstanding or if someone might be upset with me, I ask them. Sometimes I have to work up a lot of courage to ask, but it’s better to find out than to fume over what could be nothing, and most of the time, it is nothing but a misunderstanding.

“Always Do Your Best ~ Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.”

You can only do the best you can with what you know at the time. That goes for everyone. Your best is based on your upbringing, beliefs, experiences, etc. We never know a person’s state of mind. It also makes it easier not to judge people because you realize they were only doing the best they could with what they knew. We have to remember that everyone has a story, and we don’t always see the bigger picture.

When we’re not feeling well or we’re feeling negative, it’s easy not to do what we think was our best, but we still did the best we could at that time. Once you understand this agreement for yourself and others, you can find compassion and understanding, and not be so judgmental. As Oprah says, “If you could do better, you would do better.”

“Be Skeptical, but Learn to Listen ~ Don’t believe yourself or anybody else. Use the power of doubt to question everything you hear: Is itreallythe truth? Listen to the intent behind the words, and you will understand the real message.”

This is the Fifth Agreement. Relatively speaking, truth is an illusion. What do I mean by that? The same truth can be different to different people. Ask ten witnesses at an accident what happened, and you can get ten different answers. At one time, it was believed that the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around the earth. This was their truth at that time. Today, we know this isn’t so. There are many things that were known as truth at one time, and that truth changed. Just think about religion and politics where everyone in those realms believe theirs is the only truth, and yet everyone disagrees with the other. So, who is right and who is wrong?

I’ve learned to just keep an open mind in all things because I know that my own truth changes as I learn and become more knowledgeable and enlightened. What I believe now is just my truth at this time in my life. That’s why I won’t argue with people about anything either. You can’t argue a person’s truth because to them, they believe theirs is the only truth.

Practicing these Five Agreements have drastically changed my life for the better. I’ve learned to have so much more love, compassion, and kindness not only for others, but for myself.

don Migel Ruiz says “You don’t need to change the world; you need to change yourself.” And Gandhi stated “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Practicing these Five Agreements is a good start. We can only change the world, by changing ourselves first.

“Love is life’s great secret. It transcends fear and isolation, guiding you beyond the shadows of sentiment, to the shores of boundless being. Love endures not from words or feelings alone, but from actions that carry you beyond the interests of separate self, beyond reason or motive, to embrace all people, things, and circumstances. Loving-kindness begins in little ways, in moments of insight and humility, in your soul’s longing for love’s communion, which waits just on the other side of your heart’s doorway. You are not here to contact your higher self; you are here to become it.”

The above was from one of my favorite authors, Dan Millman, in his book “Everyday Enlightenment: The Twelve Gateways to Personal Growth,” which I highly recommend reading.

We talk a lot about love, but do we really know what love is? I’m talking about the pure, unconditional, perfect love of God / Spirit / Universe / Life itself! Many people will say they love certain people, but do they really? Yes, we do to a certain extent. But many of those times, we put conditions on that love. “I will love you if….” Those “if’s” usually mean getting something in return even if it is just that person loving us back. Unconditional love is loving someone without expecting anything in return. Easy? It should be, but we humans make it very difficult.

Many of those conditions we put on our love include needing the person to think like we do, look like we do, believe the way we do, and fit our expectations of the way we think they should be, do, and act. If any of these don’t meet our expectations, then that love becomes conditional. Loving unconditionally, the way God loves us, means loving and accepting someone just as they are.

Most important of all, we do not love ourselves unconditionally. I know that’s a tough one for me, though I’ve been learning more and more just how extremely important that is because until we can love ourselves unconditionally, we cannot love others unconditionally.

There are times when I feel so much unconditional love for everyone and everything in the world that I feel I could just burst wide open in a state of loving bliss! And then there are other times that feel like I could turn my back on all of humanity because of all the human nonsense I see and hear. At least I know that feeling of loving bliss and it gives me something to strive for more and more.

One thing that helps me is to do random acts of kindness for anyone and everyone I encounter. For it is when I am giving that love that I feel that I am the most loving, not only towards others, but towards myself. We feel good when we help others to feel good. When we lift others up, we lift up ourselves. And that is a wonderful feeling!

It’s time that we awaken our hearts to know that we are loved by God beyond measure! We are the best there is and it has nothing to do with anyone else! We were created to be magnificent, beautiful, fabulous, and miraculous beings! Genesis 1:26 says “Let us make mankind in our image and in our likeness.” Not in a physical sense, but in the essence of the All-That-Is. Do you know how glorious and extraordinary that makes us? Now if we could just believe it and live it!

I’ve shared with you one of my favorite quotes by Marianne Williamson before, but I’d like to share it with you again, and if you will, really take the words into your heart. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Again, as it says in the quote by Dan Millman, “You are not here to contact your higher self; you are here to become it.” All we need to do is awaken our hearts, believe it, and it is so.

Published in the Cookeville Herald Citizen newspaper January 16, 2015.

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

There has been a great spiritual awakening occurring, not only within ourselves, but in the world, and it seems that two forces are fighting against each other. These two forces may have the appearance of light/good/right vs. dark/bad/wrong. This is sometimes called a dichotomy meaning a division or contrast between two things that are represented as being opposed or entirely different.

Life is full of dichotomies but these are actually good things. If we didn’t know dark/bad/wrong, then we wouldn’t know light/good/right and vise versa. As human beings, we have to know or experience one in order to know or experience the other.

Spiritually, let’s look at these energies as just light and darkness. The light is filled with joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The darkness is filled with anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. We all have a little bit of all this within us at one time or another. But we have choices. As in the story of the two wolves, we can choose which one we are going to feed.

If you look at America and world events, it seems that it’s just been in recent years that we are seeing so much more negativity everywhere: politics, religion, education, government, healthcare, and so on. Everything that isn’t working in our lives and in our world is coming to light so that we can see it and do something to make it better. Like a cut finger that gets infected, we have to see the pus come to the surface before we can cleanse and heal it.

The good news is that there is so much more light occurring in the world! The sad thing is that we’re just not hearing about it in the media. Remember, most of the media loves the darkness and feeds off the negative energies because that’s how they make their money, and many of them will even add fuel to the fire with lies and exaggerations to keep it going and maybe even make it worse all for the sake of news.

But please know that the light is actually expanding so much brighter because so many people are starting to get it. They know that love, compassion, hope, truth, and kindness are the answer and they’re doing what they can to make a wonderful difference in our world. People are changing the world for the better, and I totally believe that it is going to get better. Each of us, as individuals and our world as a whole, are diamonds in the rough and we’re feeling the chipping, sanding, and polishing to make us the diamonds we really are.

Those who feed the darkness are fighting harder to keep that energy alive and that’s one reason it seems we’re seeing so much more chaos. The darkness is fighting to stay dark, but the light is always greater than the darkness. Remember, darkness is only the absence of light so as our light expands, the darkness disappears.

The Bible says that we are the light of the world. We all have that light within us, yet so many have had that light dimmed or seemingly covered up completely because of what they were taught and what they experienced in life. But it’s still there waiting to shine forth.

Marianne Williamson said, “As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” So as we go into the New Year, let’s try to make a conscious effort to feed the energy of love and all that is good. By doing so, we will create the world we wish to see and maybe, just maybe, we can create world peace.

Having an attitude of gratitude for everything we have in our lives is very rewarding because when we are in a state of gratefulness, the better our outlook on life and we tend to have a more optimist attitude not only for ourselves, but for the world around us. When you look for the good, the more good you will find.

We know how important this is when finding things to appreciate that matter to our own everyday lives, but what about the appreciation we show for others? When was the last time you let someone know how much you appreciate them or said thank you for all they do? When was the last time you even said the words ‘thank you?’

There are so many people who show up in our lives, who have done a service or a kind deed, and we need to show our appreciation, not just towards those individuals, but towards groups of people. There are a couple of groups, out of many, whom I would like to show my appreciation in this article. One is towards first responders. This can include law enforcement, EMT’s, firefighters, our military, and anyone else who puts their lives on the line to be of service to humanity.

Currently, all law enforcement is taking a hard hit because of the harm a few officers have done to others. Of course, when anyone harms anyone, they do need to be held accountable. But there are many, many more who do so much good in the world and who help so many people. These are human beings who care and just want to be of service. They never know when that one day will be that don’t make it home to their families. They’re constantly on guard and have to make split second decisions to decide if someone has a gun and/or is going to cause harm. So, to all law enforcement….I thank you!

Firefighters are another group that are under-appreciated. Some get paid and others serve on a volunteer basis. Again, they never know when they might get caught in a fire, be burned, or not make it home to their families. They risk their lives to save others, including our beloved pets, and our belonging. To all firefighters…I thank you!

EMT’s and other emergency personal also risk their lives to help people. They save lives through medical procedures until they can get the victims to the hospital. Many citizens belong to groups that respond to emergency events by volunteering their time. To all emergency responders…I thank you!

Our military personnel are also doing a service to our country for little pay, and risking their lives to help keep America safe. To all our military personnel…I thank you!All the above groups see things and deal with things no one should ever have to see or deal with. After seeing horrific events, they then try to be with their families and go about their day. It’s tough on all of them.

Another group that needs our appreciation is our teachers. Until I started subbing in the schools, I didn’t have a clue what teachers were dealing with. It’s not like it was even a generation ago. I gained a whole new appreciation for what they deal with on a day-to-day basis. They don’t just work 8:00 to 3:00 as most people think. They work evenings, weekends, on their vacations, and many will spend their own money for their students. So, to all teachers….I thank you.

There are many other groups that need our appreciation as well and you can add your own. Of course, there are many in any profession who need to be weeded out because they’re not doing a good job or they may be causing harm to others. But let’s not hold what those do against the whole.

How can we show our appreciation? Saying thank you, sending a card, and giving flowers or gifts are a just few of many ways. When you give the gift of appreciation, you not only make the other person feel good, it also makes you feel good, too.

Voltaire said “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” Randy Pausch stated “Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.”

And to all my readers, I’d like to say thank you for your love, support, and encouragement, and I appreciate you!

Published in the Cookeville Herald Citizen newspaper December 19, 2014.

“Hey Mister, where you going in such a hurry; Don't you think it's time you realized; There's a whole lot more to life than work and worry; All the sweetest things in life are free; And they're right before your eyes.

Before you went to work this morning in the city; Well, did you spend some time with your family; Did you kiss your wife and tell her that she's pretty; Did you take your children to your breast and love 'em tenderly.

Well, did you ever take a walk through the forest; Stop and dream a while among the trees; Well, you can look up through the leaves right straight to heaven; And you can almost hear the voice of God in each any every breeze.

Oh, you've got to stop and smell the roses; You've got to count your many blessings everyday; You're gonna find your way to heaven is a rough and rocky road; If you don't stop and smell the roses along the way.” (Written by Mac Davis and Carl Severinsen; Published by EMI Music Publishing.)

The above is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite entertainers, Mac Davis. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard this beautiful song, but the words ring just as true for me today as they did back then. What was interesting was that while I was watching TV and trying to come up with topics to write about, including this one, at that exact moment someone on a TV show said “you have to stop and smell the roses.” Okay...got it.

So many times in our lives, we get bogged down by so many things. We think they’re the big things, but I really think they’re all the little things that keep adding up. Let’s admit it, the big things don’t happen that often, but the little things are almost every day. Some have the attitude of ‘when it rains, it pours’ or they’ll affirm Murphy’s Law ‘if anything can go wrong, it will.’ Anyone who is familiar with the power of our thoughts knows that if we have that attitude, then yes, bad things will continue to happen because we tend to get what we expect.

I’d like to offer another option. How about if we stop and smell the roses? Literally and figuratively. Think instead ‘if anything can go right, it will!’ Or, ‘when it rains, it pours so many good things in my life.’ There is so much good that happens every day if we will just look and notice, and once you get in the habit of noticing all the good, big or small, the more you will notice. When I look outside my window or when I drive to work, I’m so grateful for the beauty of nature. I thank the trees, the clouds, the critters, the flowers and everything else for being in my world. I’m grateful that I do have some work to help pay the bills, that I have a car that runs, a roof over my head, a warm bed to sleep in, food to eat, clothes to wear…. There are many who don’t even have any of these.

Another thing I do is to mentally tell everyone and everything I see that it’s beautiful. “Hello, beautiful tree! Hello, beautiful bush! Hello, beautiful mailbox! Hello, beautiful person!” You’d be surprised how changing your perspective to seeing everything as beautiful can change your outlook on life and the way you see your world!

Yes, there is a lot of ugliness in the world when it comes to people harming one another, war, poverty, hunger… That doesn’t have to be the reality that we focus on, though. That also doesn’t mean we ignore the ‘ugly’ as we should always keep trying to make the world a better place. But when we see more beauty than ugly, then we have something to strive for because we see how beautiful the world can be. We will create what we believe.

Therefore, as we go about our day, let’s practice by stopping and smelling the roses. Look for the good and the beautiful in everyone and everything. We can start with our family and friends, and then extend it outwards to people in our everyday lives. Find something loving and kind to say to them even if it’s just a simple compliment or a smile. Brighten someone’s day with the beauty of your own magnificent soul and let your light shine!

Confucius said, “Everything hasbeauty, but not everyone sees it.” And Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.”

Published in the Cookeville Herald Citizen newspaper December 12, 2014.